News Blog

We are responding to a letter printed under the heading “Is growth out of control in county?” (Jan. 31): The undersigned recently addressed our steadily worsening housing-cost picture at a public forum in Carlsbad hosted by Sen. Pat Bates. The region is suffering from an acute shortage of housing, which highly impacts our work force and middle-income population. Housing growth is certainly not out of control. Our region’s challenge is solving the stagnation in housing production, which occurs in tandem with low inventories of affordably priced resale and rental options. This circumstance has the young leaving San Diego, has its seniors with no place to go and our work force scrambling to pay ever-higher rental costs. The answer is to build more housing, where it belongs, at a price most people can afford. This requires an honest look at what created the challenge and burdens we face.

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For instance, California has a complex regulatory environment, some of which accommodates costly legal abuse. Through honest and open collaboration with all stakeholders in our community, we can identify solutions, including regulatory reform that will lead to the preservation of our quality of life, the enhancement of our public safety and the critical protection of our environment, while still addressing our constant need for responsibly planned, affordably priced housing options that promote our future. This is and should be our goal. Sen. Bates’ attempt was to begin the dialogue that must be had. We welcome it.